Here are a few misconceptions about shoulder pain, do you have any? Myth 1: Don’t think it’s a problem and don’t care There are professional statistics that found that more than 30% of the respondents who had acute shoulder pain had just gotten over it and chose to “apply ointment or bruise wine” when the pain attacked, and did not treat the symptoms but not the root cause. As a result, chronic shoulder pain starts. Misconception 2: Shoulder pain is only treated with Chinese herbal medicine or plasters. Since there is no common knowledge about shoulder pain and there are various “Chinese herbal recipes” on the market to treat various limb pain, many people choose to take some Chinese herbal medicine or use plasters to stick where the pain is when the pain strikes. The actual pain is not only temporarily relieved or controlled locally, but also covers up the symptoms. But the root cause of the pain is still not properly dealt with, leading to the gradual development and aggravation of the original disease. Myth 3: Blind shoulder exercises Because of the widespread awareness of “frozen shoulder” or “fifty shoulders”, many middle-aged and elderly people who have shoulder pain think they have “frozen shoulder”. Many middle-aged and elderly people with shoulder pain think they have “frozen shoulder” and blindly accept the advice of people around them and some unprofessional doctors to do excessive exercises for their shoulder joints, such as hanging a bar or spinning a pulley. Most of the shoulder joint diseases are contraindicated by excessive exercise, which will only aggravate the disease. Myth 4: Cupping and Massage Cures All Diseases With the improvement of quality of life, many people are willing to go to massage stores to get cupping and massage, and some even think that massage cures all diseases. Shoulder pain, we are accustomed to use massage to relieve pain. It is true that massage can play a role in relieving the pain, but it cannot cure the root of the problem. Myth 5: Shoulder pain is just a minor problem, no need for surgery Many people think that shoulder pain is no big deal, not a big problem. They don’t even need to treat it, not to mention the need for surgery. In fact, there are many reasons for shoulder pain, and although many shoulder disorders can be cured or relieved by various conservative treatments or rehabilitation exercises, there are still some shoulder pains that must be cured by surgery. Most of the current shoulder surgeries are mostly treated by arthroscopic surgery, which has the advantages of less trauma, faster recovery, fewer complications and aesthetic appearance than traditional open surgery. Therefore, when shoulder pain is present, you should seek a professional arthroscopic surgeon for a clear diagnosis and appropriate treatment in order to avoid delaying the condition. Let’s have a proper understanding of shoulder joint disorders. Shoulder joint injuries include damage to bones, ligaments and tendons, and can be simply divided into the following four categories: First, rotator cuff injuries. In patients over the age of 40, rotator cuff injuries are the most common cause, accounting for 30-40% of shoulder disorders. The rotator cuff is the tendon tissue that wraps around the shoulder joint in front, above and behind the shoulder joint and serves to stabilize the shoulder joint. When the rotator cuff is normal, a person is able to lift the arm and hold things higher than the top of the head. The common symptoms of rotator cuff injury are: muscle weakness, weakness when lifting the arm; pain in the shoulder joint at night, especially when lying on the affected side, and in severe cases, inability to sleep; friction or popping when moving the shoulder joint, and limited movement of the shoulder joint. Second, shoulder impingement. This is caused by excessive collision between the rotator cuff and the acromion due to aging and degeneration of the acromion. At the beginning of the disease, there may only be pain with activity, and the pain may radiate from the shoulder to the forearm and worsen when lifting or holding objects. As the pain progresses, nocturnal pain may develop and the strength or range of motion of the upper extremity may decrease to the point where you cannot put your hands behind your back or make movements to fasten or unfasten a buckle. Some people with impingement have a history of shoulder trauma, but a significant number of patients are associated with chronic overuse of the shoulder joint. Shoulder impingement may lead to more serious tendon damage and cause shoulder dysfunction if not properly treated. Third, shoulder instability. This is called shoulder instability and is commonly referred to as “dislocation” or “ring drop”. If the shoulder joint becomes unstable repeatedly and habitually, when the arm is raised, the shoulder joint will become painful and it will feel as if the shoulder joint is about to slip out of its normal position. The fourth is frozen shoulder, commonly known as frozen shoulder. It is mainly a stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint. Of course there are some other shoulder joint disorders such as calcific tendonitis, subacromial bursitis, and long head biceps tendonitis. If the shoulder joint is uncomfortable, you should pay attention to the following issues: first, whether the shoulder joint feels stiff and whether you can rotate your arm normally; second, whether the shoulder joint feels misaligned; and third, whether the shoulder joint is weak. If any of these problems exist, you should go to the hospital and undergo relevant examinations, such as X-rays and MRI, in a timely manner. The treatment of shoulder joint disease usually includes non-surgical treatment and surgical treatment. Non-surgical treatment is mainly: individualized rehabilitation guidance is given according to the condition. If it is very painful, or if exercise and oral medication do not work, you can consider shoulder joint injection medication, such as the triple shot we commonly use, which can relieve the symptoms of about 80% of patients. However, there are some diseases for which we do not recommend injections, as they can easily aggravate the condition. Certain shoulder diseases require arthroscopic surgery. Early treatment can get rid of shoulder diseases as soon as possible, so as not to delay the disease and increase the pain and financial burden!